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GSA Awards 935,000 Square Foot Lease for HHS in Rockville, Maryland

Sound business decision for taxpayers

GSA#10814

Aug. 11, 2011
Adam Elkington, 202-357-9582
adam.elkington@gsa.gov

WASHINGTON - The U.S. General Services Administration announced today that it has awarded a 15-year lease for 935,000 square feet to the Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Md. The lease will house elements of the Department of Health and Human Services. Occupancy is scheduled to occur in Summer 2014.

“GSA used our Best Value methodology for the selection, which allows us to balance price with the qualities and features we seek in a location. Parklawn will provide first- class office space, in an environmentally sustainable building, proximate to a Metrorail station, at a good value for the American taxpayer,” stated Cathy Kronopolus, Public Buildings Service Regional Commissioner for GSA’s National Capital Region. “This was a sound business decision.”

Utilizing the Best Value methodology, offers were evaluated by weighing price against three factors: location, building characteristics, and past performance/key personnel. Location and building characteristics shared equal value. Two sub-factors figured into location, access to Metrorail and access to amenities, with access to Metrorail as the most important of all sub-factors.

Due to the size of this particular lease, GSA chose to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA). GSA publically identified all five locations in order for this evaluation to occur. All five fell within the price cap of $34 per square foot established for Suburban Maryland. Price ended up being a major factor in reaching a decision, and the offers in Montgomery County were significantly lower than those in Prince George’s County.

GSA identified the proposal for the Parklawn building submitted by The JBG Companies as the apparent successful offeror in March. Following that, several of the competing offerors filed protests with the Government Accountability Office (GAO). GAO upheld the protests in part, directing GSA to re-evaluate the proposals based on its interpretation of the factors included in the solicitation. GSA conducted this re-evaluation and concluded once again that the Parklawn Building represents the best value to the Government in response to Solicitation for Offers No. 08-011.

James Phelan was GSA’s contracting officer, and Seyi Gbadegesin was the realty specialist. CBRE served as GSA’s broker for the procurement.

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As the federal government's workplace solutions provider, the U.S. General Services Administration works to foster an effective, sustainable and transparent government for the American people. GSA’s expertise in government workplace solutions includes:
• Effective management of government assets including more than 9,600 government-owned or leased buildings and 215,000 vehicles in the federal fleet, and preservation of historic federal properties;
• Leveraging the government’s buying power through responsible acquisition of products and services making up approximately 14 percent of the government’s total procurement dollars;
• Providing innovative technology solutions to enhance government efficiency and increase citizen engagement; and,
• Promoting responsible use of federal resources through development of governmentwide policies ranging from federal travel to property and management practices.